In one of the best problems an elite athlete can have, Kaelan Watson is coveted by two different national teams. What makes it a problem is that the indoor and outdoor hockey programs both want her on their roster at the same time in January.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to choose,鈥� Watson said from Toronto following a four-nation indoor tournament that Canada won earlier this month.
In January, the outdoor field team travels to New Zealand to play a test match against the Kiwis, an series of exhibition games that are nonetheless key for deciding which players continue with Canada for the second round of the World League. The semifinals, which will be held in 2015, double as a qualifier for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio.
鈥淚f I don鈥檛 go, it could affect my chances on that squad,鈥� said Watson, a defender with 31 appearances for the field team who started playing with the 麻豆传媒映画Jokers when she was 14.
While New Zealand pulls her in one direction, Watson also wants to be in Germany at the Indoor Hockey World Cup.
鈥淭he World Cup, it鈥檚 the highest competition you can play for indoor,鈥� she said. 鈥淎 lot of my energy and passion has gone towards it. It will be a tough decision.鈥�
Indoor hockey is more like hockey, said Watson. The five-on-five floor game is tactically different and faster than the outdoor game. By contrast, field hockey is more like soccer and demands a player cover more terrain.
The indoor and outdoor hockey are two separate programs in Canada and three of Watson鈥檚 teammates are in the same position as her and must decide where they鈥檒l be in January.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty tough. It鈥檚 cool that we have to pick between two incredible options, but whatever one we don鈥檛 chose it鈥檚 a big thing to count ourselves out for the other,鈥� she said.
There is an emerging effort to synchronize the teams for greater co-operation, Watson said, and she could possibly leave New Zealand and immediately travel to Germany. But there is pressure to decide.
Watson, who was named the MVP of the 2010 CIS field hockey championship, played for Canada at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and readily shows her out-going nature and infectious sense of humour on social media.
In some ways, she is in a privileged position, but the University of Toronto female athlete of the year in 2011 doesn鈥檛 take her position for granted.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e constantly battling for your spots. Every time we go on your, there is a selection we go through. There are always girls looking to come in and take a spot away,鈥� she said.
In Germany or New Zealand come 2015, she鈥檒l be playing for Canada.
